Constructive criticism ?

[juliano]

this too :
http://www.pbase.com/ilanphoto/image/43216956



love the frame on it tho!

[pathfindar]

http://www.pbase.com/duncansmith/image/57682731

This was a hard photo for which to provide a critique.

Not really, I took the photo and I think you can see the obvious improvements where I cropped to hightlight the main subject matter, reduced the grain, adjusted the color balance and saturation, reduced the camera noise, and of course sharpened the image some.

[mesullivan]

It's perfect now.

[northstar37]

Such an improvement! My legs turned to jelly, quite literally, when I saw it. It seems to be saying 'YES' and yet it's saying 'NO!' I'm so confused.

[adalberto_tiburzi]

LOL!

[annayu]

http://www.pbase.com/duncansmith/image/57682731

This was a hard photo for which to provide a critique.

Not really, I took the photo and I think you can see the obvious improvements where I cropped to hightlight the main subject matter, reduced the grain, adjusted the color balance and saturation, reduced the camera noise, and of course sharpened the image some.

Come on you guys. Why not an honest critique and no beating around the bush. It's a miserable black square and the focus is off. Either change the lens or the camera. Or the photographer. Be brutal, be honest with your critique.

[halesr]

Come on you guys. Why not an honest critique and no beating around the bush. It's a miserable black square and the focus is off. Either change the lens or the camera. Or the photographer. Be brutal, be honest with your critique.

Now this is a critique with no holds barred.--Rene

[leggings]

I forgot to write something witty here.

Duncan

[adalberto_tiburzi]

Strong image nicely done regards Adal

[clickaway]

I love the selective desaturation on this version and the offset positive space.

[pathfindar]

I don't know how we do as a forum on constructive criticism, but no one can say we don't have a good time and we don't have a sense of humor

[mesullivan]

Maybe we need some reviews like this?
http://www.sportsshooter.com/special_fe ... index.html

[jypsee]

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fet ... 0FSMN&tag=

[halesr]

Jypsee, thanks for sharing the link. It was an interesting read.

Here is another site that I have been exploring in search of honest critique
ALT Photos
http://www.altphotos.com/

From their web site
Who is ALT for?
ALT is for anybody who has a passion for making photographs. As long as your work is exciting and interesting there'll be an audience here for you.

ALT is NOT for!

Cute snapshots of your pets.
Pornographic material. We don't want it.
Sharing family snapshots. There are other sites for that, please not here.
Sunset shots, only if it's very different.
Pictures of flowers, unless done in an extraordinary way.
Cute baby photos, we know you're excited, but we just want unusual photography.

If I went with Alt Photo, I would still keep my pbase account as I sometimes want to post pets and family pics and just the cute stuff. Also FLOWERS are a HUGE part of my portfolio and I might not have anything truely original to post. Actually this description scared me a bit.

BUT, after reading this article--

The Monday Night Group
(or, how to improve your photography in one hour a week)

http://www.butzi.net/articles/monday.htm

I have contacted other KY photographers and I am going to go with a f2f group modeled on this description. Maybe honest discussion of art work occurs best verbally.

If anyone is interested, I will let you know how it goes.--Rene

[jypsee]

I was looking at photo net because they have an article on the site about Venice Rookery and I wanted to add to it and correct some information and started clicking around and saw the "philosophy of photography" forum. So, I started reading stuff and thought that Flikr thing reminded me of some stuff I've read here. So, my purpose in posting it was not that I agree that it's a good site (maybe it is) for critique, but that these issues crop up everywhere. I found the discussion interesting for that reason. I also agree with the premise that one of the discussants makes that critique is better done in person, where there's more affect to detect. It also behooves the person requesting critique to be willing to hear hard to give feedback. Here on PAD, a request for feedback could be a thread in the forum that would tell how to request it. I don't think the forum would support a critique thread because it's not possible to make private comments. In a PAD setting a poster could add a symbol after the title of the photo (such as the challenge forums do) requesting critique. It's pretty simple. That said, I find that critique in a setting that is as impersonal as the internet usually devolves into hero worship and quid pro quo sessions.

RE critique methods (just thought I'd mention that topic here) If I critique I mostly offer a suggestion for composition, not technique. Technique is about ability to master the craft. Composition is about aesthetics and is fairly fluid so I think making a public comment to offer another way of looking at the frame is fine. A critique of technique is best done in private, and thankfully we can now do that here on pbase. As for critique of subject matter, that list from ALT seems sort of foolish and self absorbed to me. Someone posted a photo of a nude mother and her child (I assume it was her child) recently that was really compelling. Who is to say what the subject may be. Merely saying I don't like your subject is really shallow.